By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The latest from the creator of SHATTER DEAD and SIXTEEN TONGUES is world-premiering at the Montreal festival.
BLACK EYED SUSAN, a Vinegar Syndrome Production in association with Not the Funeral Home and Moose + Squirrel, has its debut screening at Fantasia on Friday, August 2. Written and directed by Scooter McCrae and shot on 16mm film, it was produced by Justin Martell, Maureen McCrae, Seager Dixon and Aimee Kuge, sports a score by Italian horror legend Fabio Frizzi (ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND) and stars Yvonne Emilie Thälker, Damian Maffei (THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT, 2023’s TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE game), Marc Romeo and ex-WWE Superstar Scott Fowler. The synopsis: “Down-on-his-luck Derek [Maffei] is hired by a shady tech industrialist to ‘test’ Susan [Thälker], a lifelike robot built for the purpose of receiving and ‘enjoying’ sexual abuse. Initially hesitant to take part, Derek accepts, but quickly finds himself drawn to Susan’s developing personality and inquisitive nature. As the robot’s expanding humanity chips away at him and he learns more about his own secret desires, he questions if what he’s been tasked to do–even to a robot–should ever be condoned.
“Legendary underground filmmaker Scooter McCrae returns after a 21-year absence from feature filmmaking with the bold, vulgar, and deeply thought-provoking BLACK EYED SUSAN. Simultaneously brutally challenging and deeply vulnerable, the latest from the New York-based provocateur appropriates bleeding-edge science fiction concepts to address the seemingly endless lengths that men will go to satisfy their darkest impulses without questioning the consequences of their actions.”
